


The Miracle in a Nightmare

by TheBigLoserQueen



Series: Gladiator AU [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gladiators, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Emotional, Emotional Hurt, Gladiators, Human, Hurt, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Non-Graphic Violence, Slavery, Slaves, Underage - Freeform, Violence, not historically accurate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 15:11:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6525319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigLoserQueen/pseuds/TheBigLoserQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thornstriker gets a new master.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Miracle in a Nightmare

Thornstriker sat in her cage, shaking violently as she kept herself huddled up in the far left corner, away from everyone who came to look at her. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, trickling down her face as she just hugged herself tightly. She wished this was a dream. Just an awful nightmare that she would be able to wake up from...

But it wasn't. Shortly after her fifteenth birthday, her parents had sold her into slavery to pay off her father's debts. And almost immediately after she had been thrown into the slave market, she had been purchased by one of the men in charge of running some of the tournaments at the coliseum. She had thought he would just keep her as his slave, but...

She was being used for a different purpose. She was for the gladiators... but not as a pleasure slave they could go to whenever. The man had said she was worth more since she had come from a good family. No, she was being made into a prize. A prize for a tournament being set up for the gladiators. Whoever won would have the right to... own her. She would be their personal slave until the day they were killed... and then she end up belonging to the person who killed her owner. It would be a never-ending cycle...

It was her fate to be someone's slave until the day she died.

Many of the gladiators had walked by her cage, checking her out and seeing if she was worth it. Some walked by and scoffed, others just casted her looks of sympathy, but most... Most just stared at her. Like she was a piece of meat. And they were the ones that signed up for this tournament... because they wanted to own her. They wanted... to hurt her.

She hugged herself tighter, burying her face into her knees. Why? Why would her parents do this to her?! She knew they weren't the best, but... but she was their daughter. Why would they sell her as if she were mere property?

Maybe that was why they had sent her brother out to do business that morning. So he wouldn't have been home to fight back when they sold her off. He was... the only one who loved and cared for her. He always protected her and cared for her and helped her with anything she asked.

And now she would never see him again. She would never any of her loved ones again... She was doomed to be a slave for life, unless her master took pity on her freed her. But... considering who was signing up for this tournament, she doubted that would ever happen.

"They're seriously fighting for her? She can't be any older than twelve..."

Thornstriker flinched. That was a woman's voice... and she had to have been talking about her.

"I think I was about twelve when I decided to do this gladiator stuff." A man this time... though his voice was much more childish and sing-song like compared to the woman's sultry tone. "But that was my choice... This poor little thing looks like a new slave. Look how pretty she is."

"Probably why the old man made her the prize... not sure what's worse though, for her to be that guy's slave or whoever wins this thing."

"Well, I mean, I guess they would both-"

"Shut up, both of you."

The new third voice made her flinch, her hands tightening around her arms. Primus... It was so... deep. Commanding. Scary even. And he had said it so threateningly too... She couldn't help but to peek up just to see who had spoken.

Her eyes widened when she saw that the man was looking right at her as she looked up. She flinched back, pressing into the bars while he just continued to stare at her with an unreadable expression. Why was he staring at her?! Had she done something wrong? But how could she? She had been sitting in the cage the entire time!

Primus, this man was so... intimidating. Dark skin, bright red eyes, a large and muscular build, scars and tattoos... And he was just staring at her, looking her up and down slowly, carefully. She couldn't help but to tremble, more tears pooling in her eyes. What did he want from her? Why wouldn't he just stop staring at her?! She just wanted to be left alone... She just wanted to go home...

"Wow, you made a girl cry," the woman said, placing her hands on her hips. "You're kind of asshole, aren't you?"

The man looked back at the woman glared at her, though she just laughed and shook her head. But the other male, who was much lankier than the dark skinned man, rolled his eyes.

"You know that's just his face, Nebula," he pointed out, reaching up to poke the bigger man's cheek. "Bloodshed always has a scary face, it's not his fault."

Bloodshed just glared at the other man. “Novabomb, just shut it.”

Novabomb, the other smile, merely smiled before Bloodshed looked back at her, his expression softening. She bit her lip, tears still trickling down her face. If... If what the other man said was true about this person, then maybe he wasn't really glaring at her... or at least he wasn't trying to intimidate her. If that was true, maybe she didn't have to be scared... For now anyway. She still had no idea what this person was thinking.

All he did was study over her for a little bit more. His expression turned much more... gentle. Sort of, she couldn't really tell if it was the lighting or not, but he didn't look to be glaring at her. Maybe he felt sorry for her, like some of the other men had. Maybe he was thinking about why she was in a place like this to begin with. She certainly wasn't the type of person that would ever be anywhere near the coliseum...

Which was true. She had only been to a tournament once in her entire life and she had been ten when she had gone. The fighting scared her, as did all the cheering and death... She ended up running away crying, only to end up getting completely lost in the coliseum. And she probably would have been there all night had she not come across one of the younger gladiators who had just gotten his injuries tended to. If it weren't for him, she probably never would have found her brother and her parents...

The gladiator behind the bars suddenly stood up, causing her to flinch back a bit. But he didn't say anything and simply walked away, his two friends following. Thornstriker just watched as the man walked away, biting her bottom lip as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Right, he probably had to head off soon... That tournament was going to start soon. And everyone who wasn't competing no doubt wanted to watch.

She hugged herself tightly and looked at her feet. She would just have to pray for the best… That whoever won her would at least take pity on her. She was only fifteen. Why would anyone want to have a fifteen-year-old girl as a slave? That just seemed like a waste… At least that was what she hoped for.

* * *

Just before the tournament, she had been dolled up in white, revealing clothes and expensive jewelry. She looked gaudy and expensive… A true prize to be won. And the man who had bought her from the parents had brought her up to the observation deck for the organizers of this tournament, sitting her down right in the front on the floor so both the audience and the gladiators fighting today could see her.

And so she wouldn’t run away, the man had forced her to wear a collar around her neck while he held onto the leash. Primus… She was been reduced to the status of an animal. Maybe even lower than that once she had her new owner… She should have just been grateful that none of these people were groping her or trying to feel her up. They probably didn’t want to have it come across as if she were already used… Less people would compete if they thought she was someone else’s leftovers.

She wished less people had competed though, especially since it seemed to be a free for all. She didn’t want to watch this… All of this death and blood and violence… She hated this place. She hated the fighting, the men who didn’t have a choice but to become gladiators, the men who were ruthless killers who thought the violence was fun… But now she was apart of it. And she would never be able to escape.

She tried to drown everything out. The announcer, the fighting, the cheers… It was just better for her to pretend she wasn’t hear, that none of this existed. While each gladiator death shocked her out of dazed state, she always forced herself to go back into her mind and not think about it. It was just better to pretend nothing was going on, that it was all a dream…

It was good practice too. Because whoever won this would own her. And they would probably beat her… She needed to be able to close her eyes and bear with it. Just drown it all out until the pain passed. It was all she would be able to do to defend herself…

Another roar of thunderous applause snapped her back into reality, her eyes falling to the pits below. But she felt her bottom lip drop when she saw that man from before standing over the now dead body on the ground, his sword and front half covered in blood.

Why was he in the tournament? Why would he want to fight for her? All he did was stare at her! Why would possess him to… to…

She heard chuckling come from behind her, but she didn’t dare turn her head. The last time she did that, her current owner had threatened her with violence. So she knew better when to turn if no one was speaking to her.

“So… Bloodshed decided to participate?”

“Yeah. It was last minute, but the people get excited whenever he fights, so more people are willing to come watch. Not as much as Megatron, for obvious reasons.”

“Still… Senator Bombrush sure named his son well. The man’s a monster in the ring.”

“Why do you think the people love him so much?”

Thornstriker felt her stomach drop at that, her hand coming up to grip her chest tightly. Bloodshed… was well known. This man was a well-known fighter and was one who liked to cause havoc in the ring. Where he fought and fought hard, always ending everything in violence for people’s entertainment. And now this person… this person was fighting in this free for all. For her. For the chance to be her master.

That must have been why he was staring at her so much. He was looking her over, studying her to see if she would be a good slave or not. Maybe he just wanted someone to hurt. Someone weak and who couldn’t fight back. And she just happened to be that person…

More cheers alerted her back to the match. Only four fighters left… Bloodshed included. Thornstriker held her hands tightly to her chest, trying not to shake visibly. She didn’t want him to win. Not if he was such a violent person… She would end up dead if she became his slave. She didn’t want to be beaten to death. She didn’t want to die…

She just prayed that he wouldn’t win.

* * *

Primus must have hated her. Bloodshed had won the tournament and come to collect her in one of the back rooms. She was sitting in the corner, shaking violently as she tried not to cry. Three of the organizers were there talking amongst themselves and there was a man by the door. No doubt the guard in case she decided to make a run for it.

As if she had anywhere to go. She had no idea how to get home from here. And considering she was a prize, she had no doubt that plenty of people would be sent after her. And once she was returned to her… new master, he would probably beat her for trying to run away. Maybe even torture her. She knew how some slaves were treated… and how their corpses ended up mutilated due to the abuse they had endured before they were finally allowed to die.

Why? Why did Bloodshed have to win? Why did he even participate?! If his father was a senator, he could just buy a slave whenever he wanted. He didn’t need to risk his life just to have someone like her… Unless he just wanted an excuse to kill a bunch of people. And if that was true, maybe she had been met with a fate worse than death.

And no one would ever be able to save her from it.

The door suddenly opened, causing her to flinch back and look up. The three men and guard had turned Bloodshed, now cleaned up and presentable after such a bloody match, entered the room.

“Bloodshed! Good to see you.”

“I had better you would win. You certainly made my night.”

“We knew the moment you said you wanted to enter, you would win. Almost felt bad for the others that signed up.”

How could they talk like that after what had just happened? People were dead! Murdered! All for the sake of a human prize and gruesome entertainment. It was barbaric and they were treating it as if it were nothing! Nothing at all. Primus, this place was run by monsters, filled with monsters, for monsters…

But Bloodshed didn’t seem too interested in joining in on the conversation. Instead, in a gruff and low voice, he asked, “Where is she?”

“Ah, right, the girl.”

Thornstriker flinched as the guard moved from his spot to walk over to her. All of the men turned in her direction, watching the guard grab her chain. When she didn’t move right away, he yanked on it, causing her to gag slightly and fall forward.

“Get up.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. Terrified, she scrambled to her feet and forced herself to walk over to… her new master. And he was staring at her again, looking her up and down. It didn’t help he had this wild, dark look in his eyes, as if he were ready to rip her in two. She almost fainted. It was miracle and a mystery as to why she didn’t, if she were being perfectly honest.

The man handed her leash to Bloodshed, which he slowly took and firmly held. Probably so she couldn’t run away. Her legs started shaking hard, more fear seeping into her stomach.

“We hope you enjoy yourself,” the man said, holding out her contract to him. “And please, give our best regards to your father.”

“… Yeah, okay.”

But he didn’t say anything more. He just took the contract and pocketed it in his bag. Then he turned to her, noting how much she was shaking. But Bloodshed remained silent and turned away, still holding onto her leash as he walked forward. And Thornstriker had no choice but to follow him, despite her legs ready to give at any moment.

He didn’t say a word to her, but he didn’t have her walk behind him. When they were out in one of the hallways and no one could see them, he moved his other arm to gently push her up to have her walk alongside him. But he didn’t let go of her leash. He never pulled on it and he never spoke a word, leaving her anxious and confused. It didn’t help that when people did come into view, they would stare at them and whisper.

They had to have known something she didn’t. Maybe they knew what he was going to do her. Maybe she was going to be his next victim the moment he brought her to his home. She wished she could hear them better… But she was shaking too hard to focus on anything other than making sure she didn’t collapse to the ground.

“Hey, Bloodshed!”

They both looked up, Thornstriker flinching back in fear when she saw it was Bloodshed’s male friend from before. Bloodshed just continued to walk, only regarding him with a nod as they continued to walk along, his friend coming up beside him.

“Are we heading back?”

“Yeah. Where’s Nebula?”

“Ah, she went back home right after the match. Guess her parents sent some people to come collect her.”

“Right, they want to marry her off.”

“Like that’ll ever happen.” He leaned over to peek at Thornstriker, who just flinched back in fright. A smile came to his voice though and he giggled. “No need to worry, lady! You’ll be fine.”

What did that even mean? She would be fine? Of course she wouldn’t be fine! She was this man’s slave! And he could and probably would do everything he wanted to do to her and no one would even bother to stop him. There was nothing she could do but obey him unless she wanted to face punishment.

So she just kept her head down, allowing Bloodshed to lead her along until they got to a stagecoach. She got into the coach, Bloodshed and Novabomb following after her. Novabomb sat across from the two them while Thornstriker kept herself huddled in a small corner, keeping her head down and herself as far away from the man holding her leash as possible. She failed to notice the somber look on her new master’s face though, unaware that he had actually let go of the leash as soon as the door closed.

The stagecoach ride wasn’t very long, unfortunately. Soon enough, Thornstriker found herself being led out of the car by Bloodshed, who had taken a hold of her leash again and walked into the house. Novabomb followed, humming to himself as other slaves, simply servants, greeted them at the gate. Thornstriker bit her lips, holding her hands to chest again.

Maybe… Maybe he would just have her work around the house. Just do chores like washing and cleaning. Those she could do… Maybe not very well, but if one of the older slaves taught her, she would be able to learn quickly.

“Welcome home, Lord Bloodshed,” one of the servants said as they walked into the huge mansion-like home. It was even bigger than her house… Which made sense, she supposed. Her family was noble, but they weren’t that wealthy. If Bloodshed’s father was a senator, then of course their home would be huge.

“Is Bombrush home?” Bloodshed asked, heading towards the far back hall while Novabomb wandered off into the living room.

“No, the senator is currently at a meeting.”

“Then I’ll be in my study. And prepare one of the guest rooms.”

“Of course, sir.”

Thornstriker swallowed as she led to where she assumed was Bloodshed's study. Why did he want one of the guest rooms prepared? Was he... planning to take her tonight? And he just didn't want to have sex with her in his room? Just use her on some random bed he didn't have to worry about getting dirty?

Primus, he wasn't even going to wait. He had already planned to take her virginity... She should have known. She should have known that this was what was going to happen to her! She was just going to be some pleasure slave... Just a toy for someone to use and abuse until they got bored and wanted a different toy. He was probably only taking her into the back so he could explain the ground rules... and what the consequences were for breaking those rules.

He brought her into the study, closing the door behind him. And it was like a signal to her legs. The second the door closed and they were out of sight, the fear overwhelmed her and she suddenly collapsed to the ground into a shaking mess.

Bloodshed dropped leash out of shock, jumping back as she sunk down to her knees. Before he could say anything, the poor girl burst into tears, burying her face into her hands. This was just... so much. Too much. One day she was living peacefully at home and then the next, she was sold into slavery. And now she was this strange man's slave. His pleasure slave, from the looks of things.

Why? She was only fifteen. She wasn't married, she was a virgin... She didn't want this. The debt wasn't her fault, why did she have to pay for it? This wasn't her fault! This wasn't fair...

"Wait-"

Oh Primus, she was crying in front of her master. Her master, who was a well known and violent gladiator! Now was not the time to be crying like this! He was going to beat her for this!

"S-So-Sorry-!" she managed to choke out in between sobs. "I-I'm sorry-!"

"N-No, hey, come on..."

Bloodshed slowly kneeled down in front of her, his hands waving above her with him not sure where to actually put them. She was clearly terrified and he didn't think touching her would exactly calm her down. If anything, he knew it would make much worse. But what was he supposed to do?! She had just started crying! He had never been good with comforting people and she was bawling her eyes out on the floor!

But he had to do something. He couldn't just let her cry on the floor... Biting the inside of his cheek, he slowly reached up to take off her heavy collar. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice his hands come up. But she did feel her neck get lighter, causing her to gasp and look up at the master, who had tossed the thing off to the side like trash.

"Wh-What-?"

He looked back to her, his expression completely different than when she first saw it. He looked... almost sad. Upset. But why? She was the one who had been sold off as some sort of prize! But she could only stare at him, her sobs slowly even though tears still trickled down her cheeks.

"... I'm sorry," he murmured softly, throwing her off even more. Why was he apologizing? What was going on?! "I... You don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

Thornstriker just stared at him, but Bloodshed wasn't exactly surprised. She was only fifteen and had been sold into slavery by her parents... why should she trust the man who now owned her? It was probably smart of her to not trust him. If it was anyone else who had won the tournament, she would have stripped by now and forced to spread her legs.

One of his hands balled into fists at the thought. He hadn't planned to join this tournament before. He had no interest in a slave. But... But when he came across her, he had recognized her almost instantly. Even though it had been five years, it was easy to tell that she had been the little girl he had come across after a medic had tended to his injuries. She had been such a sweet girl, just lost and wanting to be with her brother...

So when he saw her huddled up in her cage like a scared kitten and shaking like mad, he just couldn't leave her like that. She didn't deserve this... Why anyone would have sold her a slave was beyond him, but he wasn't about to let some bastard hurt her. He had a chance to protect her and he would, despite not being comfortable at all with the idea of being her master.

"...Thornstriker."

She stiffened. She would have wondered how he knew her name until she remembered that he had gotten her contract. He had probably looked at it while they were in the stagecoach, so that had to have been how he knew her name. Unless someone had said it in passing, but she doubted that. Her previous owner had just called her "girl" for the short time she was with him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, making sure she was looking him in the eyes. "I... I just wanted to protect you."

"Pr-Protect me...?"

Well, at least she was speaking to him, so this was a start. "Yes... After I saw you, I... I couldn't just leave you there. If someone else had won... they would have hurt you."

She didn't need him to tell her that, but she nodded anyway.

"... I didn't want that to happen to you. I... I can't free you-" her shoulders slumped at that, which made him feel guilty "-but I can... at least just keep you safe. I-I swear..."

Slowly, he reached for her hands. Thornstriker stiffened, but she didn't run away, allowing him to gently take her tiny hands in his. He could feel her tremble, but that was all right. He would let go once she understood.

"As long as you're here, you will be safe. No one will hurt you. I won't let them. You... You don't have to trust me, but please... Just know I'll protect you until the day my heart stops beating."

The young girl's cheeks turned red, biting her bottom lip as she looked away from him. Primus... He seemed so... sincere. His expression, his gesture, his voice, his words - everything just seemed genuine. As if he was really promising to protect her. Though she had no idea why he would want to protect a stranger. Maybe he just had a good heart... But that didn't seem to make complete sense, considering he had just murdered all those people merely a couple hours ago.

But she didn't question it. Even if he was lying through his teeth, it wasn't as if she could say anything to refute him. She was his slave now... She just had to accept his words, even if they weren't true.

She wanted to believe him though. Just... with such a gentle, almost desperate look on his face, it was hard for her not to believe him. Did she trust him? That was... hard to say. She wanted to say yes after hearing him say this to her, but he hadn't done anything to prove what he meant was true. He could always go back on his word and force her to take him if he really wanted to. And she wouldn't have a choice but to bear it.

So far now... No, she didn't trust him. And she had no idea when or if she ever would, so she remained silent with her head down.

But Bloodshed didn't seem to mind her silence. He let go of her hands, only to reach up to gently, if not awkwardly, pat her head. She stiffened, but didn't say anything when she realized he was only petting her. It was weird, but... not completely unwelcomed.

"... Tomorrow, you'll have to wear my family's collar," he said.

Her shoulders slumped, but she shouldn't have been surprised. All slaves had to wear the collar of the family who owned them. Otherwise, people wouldn't know who they belonged to and things generally got messy when people messed with another's... property. Primus, that was going to take some getting used to, even though she wished she didn't have to get used to it.

"And you'll be sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms in the back."

"I-I get my own room?" she asked, surprised.

He nodded.

Oh... That was why he had asked that other slave to prepare a guest room. It was.. for her.

"I-I don't have to sleep with the other slaves?"

"No."

"... I don't have to... sleep with you?"

"Wha-No! No, no..." The much bigger man coughed into his hand, clearly embarrassed by the suggestion. Yes, he wouldn't lie, he did find her attractive, but she was young and afraid of him. He wasn't going to force her; he had already said he wanted to protect her! "No, you... You don't have to do anything like that while you're here."

Her eyes widened. She didn't? She didn't have to tend to any of his needs? This was really starting to sound way too good to be true... Like some sort of miracle in this entire Primus forsaken nightmare.

But Bloodshed didn't say anything as he stood up, offering his hand to her. Though hesitantly, she accepted it and allowed him to gently bring her to her feet. Without much else to say, he guided her to her new room, which the other slaves had just finished preparing. They bowed to Bloodshed as he entered before he dismissed them.

"Are you tired?"

She slowly nodded, a small bit of fear crawling into her chest. Was he going to go back on his word?

"Then rest. I know it's been... a long day for you. If you need anything, let me know, okay?"

"... Y-Yes..."

"Rest well, Thornstriker."

She didn't get a chance to say anything else as he walked out of the room and gently closed the door behind him. Thornstriker merely stood there for a few moments, anxious as she found herself waiting for him to come back in. And when he never did, she slowly turned to the bed and crawled on top of it.

It was warm, soft even. Even more comfortable than the bed she had back home. Or rather, her old home. This place… This was her new home now. She wouldn’t be able to go back to her parents’ house. Or see Airstream. Or any of her friends, let alone her old bed.

She crawled under the blankets, tears coming to her eyes again. She was safe here… For now. Until Bloodshed went back on his word or until someone killed him and took her as a slave. This was now her life. Just… waiting. Waiting to be hurt, waiting for one master to die so someone else could own her and hurt her.

Thornstriker buried her face into her pillow, starting to sob softly to herself as exhaustion took over her. Reality could no longer provide her comfort, no matter what her new master tried to say to her. She could… appreciate the effort, but she just couldn’t believe his words. She just hoped her dreams could provide the comfort she needed.


End file.
